Outside the hall were two winding corridors, and crossing them led to a medium-sized banquet hall.
By the time Cai Zhao and the others arrived, they saw Mu Qingyan somehow having overtaken Nie Zhe and his group, blocking the exit of the banquet hall. At his feet lay several dead or injured guards in disarray, their dark red blood staining the intricately embroidered evergreen pine and cypress carpet, trailing all the way to Nie Zhe’s feet.
The empty banquet hall was now a scene of confrontation—on one side stood twenty to thirty of Nie Clan’s loyalists, poised for battle, while the other side had only one.
The tall, pale young man, clad in an exquisitely embroidered black robe, stood like a majestic and imposing mountain before the crowd, his cold gaze deterring anyone from advancing.
“Uncle Nie, why the hurry to leave? Where’s the boldness you showed over a year ago?” The young man’s voice was soft. “What was it you said back then? ‘It’s not that I crave power, but the Divine Sect should be led by the capable.’ If that’s the case, why not face me again?”
Nie Zhe’s face alternated between green and red before he finally spat out, “...I haven’t been feeling well these past few days. Let’s discuss a rematch another time.”
Mu Qingyan chuckled lightly. “Seventeen months ago, you chose the date for our duel. Today, it’s my turn. Why wait for another day? Today suits me just fine.”
Nie Zhe gnashed his teeth. “All those years your father and you lived in seclusion at Huanglao Peak, I never troubled you. Our duel over a year ago was agreed upon as a fight to the death. Now, you rely on outsiders to harass me without cause—what kind of reasoning is this!”
Song Yuzhi, being one of the so-called ‘outsiders,’ silently took a step back, but Cai Zhao remained unmoved.
Shangguan Haonan planted his hands on his hips and shouted, “Enough of your nonsense, Nie! You never had any right to be Sect Leader in the first place—what qualifications do you have in cultivation, reputation, or virtue? How many sect members have died at the hands of your lackeys for opposing your rule over the years? Do you dare open the gates of Paradise Palace and call all members to discuss this?!”
Nie Zhe had suffered greatly under the former Moon Altar Lord, but his cronies were quick to retaliate with curses—
“How dare a brat like you disrespect the Sect Leader? We’ll drag you to the God Devouring Platform and make you die in agony!”
“Back then, Elders Yaoguang and Kaiyang were trusted aides of the late Sect Leader Nie. As their descendant, you betray your master for glory—you deserve death ten thousand times over!”
“Hah! If it weren’t for their looks, trash like them wouldn’t even be fit to polish my shoes!”
“What looks? They’re just average at best.”
“Heh, you don’t get it—their charm lies elsewhere...”
Had You Guanyue been here today, he would have countered with a hundred clever insults, but Shangguan Haonan lacked such skill. His face flushed red as he clenched his fists, ready to strike. But the moment he moved, a slender figure darted past him, charging straight into Nie Zhe’s ranks.
A flash of silver Arm Blades, and crimson splattered—the four who had spewed venom moments ago now lay dead on the spot, each with an identical deep slash across their throats.
The girl was as pure and lovely as peach blossoms in early spring, yet her strikes were ruthless and decisive, stunning everyone present.
Though the four had been weak in cultivation, slitting all their throats in the span of a breath was no easy feat.
Cai Zhao turned her head. “Chief Shangguan, those four were bad people, right?”
Shangguan Haonan snapped out of his daze. “Of course! Those four had no skills except flattery, bullying sect members and harming the weak—they deserved to die!”
“Good.” Cai Zhao sighed softly, her bright eyes tinged with sorrow. “I’d feel terrible if I’d hurt the wrong people.”—Crowd: Asking if it's bad after you've already killed someone—that's some serious self-reproach indeed!
The 'easily guilt-ridden' girl flicked her Arm Blade, sending droplets of blood rolling off its razor-sharp silver edge, painting a vicious sickle shape on the ground.
She said coolly, "Times are tough, prices are soaring, and everyone's busy. Let's not waste time with endless chatter. Nephew Nie, either follow Mu Shaojun's suggestion, or we'll just start hacking away—whoever dies, dies. Leave it to fate."
She turned to Mu Qingyan, "Did I say that right?"
Mu Qingyan smiled, "Absolutely right."
At these words, Nie Zhe's heart stirred, but the strong, loyal guards surrounding him paled, tightly shielding his frail son behind the martial maids.
Mu Qingyan strode forward, knocking aside two guards with swift slaps, closing in on Nie Zhe. "Nie Zhe, don't dream of escaping. If chaos breaks out, others might slip away, but I won't let you off."
Nie Zhe took a deep breath. "Fine! Only you, then."
"Agreed." Mu Qingyan remained composed.
Song Yuzhi frowned, whispering, "What if Nie Zhe resorts to a battle of attrition?"
"Then we'll just renege. Grab Nie Zhe as a human shield amid the chaos—why bother with honor when dealing with a coward who spews poison?" Cai Zhao didn't even bat an eyelash.
Shangguan Haonan was delighted. "Miss Feng is truly decisive! Not just Nie Zhe—his wife and child can also be taken as hostages!"
Cai Zhao scowled. "I'd rather take you, Chief Shangguan, as a hostage. Nie Zhe doesn't care about his wife and child at all—you're his true heart and soul!"
Shangguan Haonan gaped, speechless, while Song Yuzhi shook his head with a wry smile.
Beside Mu Qingyan, three fur-clad men stepped forward, one declaring loudly, "We brothers always advance and retreat together..."
"I know," Mu Qingyan said indifferently. "Whether facing one or a hundred, you three attack together, right? Fine, come at me."
The three men rejoiced, brandishing their weapons and charging forward bravely.
Cai Zhao murmured, "Who are these three?"
Shangguan Haonan, straightforward and not one to hold grudges, immediately answered, "They're the remaining three of the 'Six Leopards.' The other three are already dead. The one with the ghost-head saber is called... Huh?"
Before he could even finish describing the first weapon, screams erupted on the field, and the situation changed abruptly.
Mu Qingyan pinched the spine of the ghost-head saber between two fingers, guiding it with a flick of qi—straight into another man's chest. He then pivoted, striking out with both palms, hitting the saber-wielder and the third man squarely in their chests, instantly severing their heart meridians.
The man impaled through the chest still writhed and wailed. Mu Qingyan walked over and expertly snapped his neck with a step.
He took out a handkerchief to wipe his fingers, his movements gentle and refined. "I detest liars. You claimed to be three brothers advancing and retreating together, but there were six of you. Now all six are in the underworld—that's true unity."
Then he looked up. "Next."
Nie Zhe's expression darkened as he jerked his chin toward another man beside him.
A scar-faced man wielding a pair of lotus-headed iron hooks leaped before Mu Qingyan and announced, "I am Li Amu, the Sun-Swallowing Hound. I seek to learn from Mu Shaojun's divine skill. Please choose a weapon."
Cai Zhao, impressed by his demeanor, couldn't help but regard him more highly.Mu Qingyan stepped forward in silence. When they were still seven or eight paces apart, he channeled his energy and pushed out his palm. The overwhelming force surged forth like violent storm clouds, leaving Li Amu almost unable to breathe, let alone counterattack. Within just five or six moves, Mu Qingyan shattered the iron lotus heads on his twin hooks and drove the sharpened ends into Li Amu’s neck.
Blood gushed out—Li Amu was dead.
With a crisp clang, Mu Qingyan tossed aside the broken hook tip and said listlessly, “I detest nothing more than those who pretend to be heroic in front of me. In these times, truly gallant heroes have long perished—next.”
Nie Zhe’s face turned ashen as his gaze shifted to a pair of brothers.
The brothers clenched their teeth, suppressing their fear as they stepped forward. One of them spoke: “Young Master Mu, we are indeed blood brothers, sharing life and death…”
“I know,” Mu Qingyan replied. “The Wind-Summoning Hound King and the Sky-Howling Hound King—brothers born of the same mother. Come at me together.”
Wang Wang and Wang Jian each wielded a seven-foot serpent-patterned spear. The brothers coordinated seamlessly, their footwork subtly aligned with the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, their spear techniques exquisite. This time, Mu Qingyan did not strike from a distance with his palm force. Instead, he weaved through their attacks before suddenly lashing out with lightning speed, gripping the tips of both spears. With a surge of inner force, he shattered the spears into fragments.
The Wang brothers’ hands were torn apart, blood pouring from their wounds. Exchanging a glance, they silently agreed and bolted toward the gate, abandoning Nie Zhe to save themselves.
Mu Qingyan stomped his left foot heavily, sending the spear fragments on the ground flying into the air. He caught them in his palm and hurled them at the fleeing brothers. Wang Jian turned to block, but a fragment pierced his throat. Wang Duo managed to deflect a few before another barrage of fragments pierced his temples.
Mu Qingyan toyed with the remaining spear fragments, his voice weary. “I detest nothing more than those who flaunt brotherly affection before me. Back then, Nie Hengcheng even told my grandfather they were ‘closer than blood brothers’—next.”
The crowd: What exactly do you hate the most?!
Song Yuzhi shook his head slightly. “How strange… truly strange.”
“What’s strange?” Cai Zhao asked.
Song Yuzhi: “In these three duels, Young Master Mu didn’t go all out. Instead, he used three different methods to kill his opponents. The first was close-quarters grappling, the second the Void Severing Palm, and the third pure inner force.”
“What’s so strange about that?” Shangguan Haonan was puzzled.
Cai Zhao said, “If he didn’t want to reveal his true strength, he should’ve stuck to one method from start to finish. If he didn’t mind showing his techniques, he should’ve ended the fights quickly to conserve energy.”
Song Yuzhi: “Zhao Zhao, don’t you find it odd?”
Cai Zhao pursed her lips, looking toward the arena. “What I find stranger is his mood. The Young Master… seems angry.”
“Angry?” Shangguan Haonan was even more confused. “We’re on the verge of victory—what’s there to be angry about?”
Cai Zhao watched intently. Beneath Mu Qingyan’s mocking smile lay a deep, suppressed fury and sorrow.
Yet, she didn’t know why.
Nie Zhe trembled all over, casting a pleading glance at Yu Hui.
Yu Hui had no choice but to step forward with a cupped fist. “Allow me to witness the Young Master’s prowess.”
“Please.” Mu Qingyan finally showed a hint of solemnity.
This duel was far beyond the previous ones. Energy surged violently within the hall, scattering weapon fragments and debris like waves. Those with weaker cultivation, like Li Xin and his mother, could no longer withstand it and retreated behind a pillar."Hold on!" Mu Qingyan suddenly stopped.
Yu Hui's chest heaved with turbulent energy as he bit his tongue to keep from losing focus. He clasped his hands in salute. "Young Master, please enlighten me."
Mu Qingyan said, "You're no match for me, though defeating you would still take some effort. Since that's the case, why not let me face Nie Zhe instead? I give you my word—in the upcoming duel, I won’t harm a single hair on Nie Zhe. He is the current sect leader, and if I want to reclaim that position, I must go through the proper formalities."
Yu Hui hesitated but found Mu Qingyan's reasoning sound. Over a year ago, the prodigious young master of the Mu family, renowned for his talent, had mysteriously lost to Nie Zhe. It was only natural he’d want to settle the score now.
So he stepped back and said, "I beg the Young Master to show mercy."
Seeing this, Nie Zhe immediately erupted in curses: "Yu, you spineless bastard! You’re nothing but the son of a servant! My uncle only kept you around because your dead father was loyal and hardworking. People outside call you 'Young Master,' and you actually started believing your own hype! You don’t even know your own worth, yet you dare make decisions for me?!"
Back in the day, Nie Hengcheng had seven children under his wing. The first four were disciples he had meticulously selected. The fifth was his incompetent nephew, Nie Zhe. The sixth was the orphaned child of a close friend, Li Xin. The seventh and last was Yu Hui, the son of a loyal servant.
Yu Hui silently stepped aside. The other guards, having witnessed Mu Qingyan’s earlier display of power, hastily scattered, leaving Nie Zhe alone at the center.
Nie Zhe panicked, flailing helplessly. Mu Qingyan scoffed lightly, "Stop pretending. Make your move."
Nie Zhe’s eyes darkened. His fingers curled like claws, the wind whistling sharply around them as he abandoned his earlier feigned weakness. Each strike was fierce and ruthless—clearly the infamous Five Venoms Palm, a technique that struck fear into hearts.
Yet this time, Mu Qingyan was unusually cautious. He let Nie Zhe unleash his attacks, focusing solely on defense.
Song Yuzhi remarked in surprise, "I didn’t expect Nie Zhe to be so skilled." His abilities were nearly on par with Yu Hui’s, yet he had pretended to be so terrified. No wonder Mu Qingyan had lost to him before.
Shangguan Haonan muttered to himself, "...I didn’t expect it either."
Song Yuzhi and Cai Zhao both turned to look at him.
Shangguan Haonan had no choice but to defend himself bitterly again: "He really didn’t succeed!"
A dull thud echoed as Nie Zhe was knocked to the ground.
"So you never truly mastered the Five Venoms Palm—you only pretended to." Mu Qingyan stood still, his eyes reddening, veins bulging on his forehead like cracks marring the surface of a beautiful porcelain vase.
This time, even Song Yuzhi could tell something was off about his demeanor.
"That can’t be! Nie Zhe mastered the Five Venoms Palm—I saw him kill two masters with it myself. Their chests bore dark green palm prints!" Shangguan Haonan shouted.
Cai Zhao asked, "Were they truly martial arts masters, or just actors on a stage?"
Shangguan Haonan suddenly understood. "You mean Nie Zhe hired performers?!" The realization enraged him, and he roared, "Nie Zhe, you fraud! You’ve deceived the world!"
Song Yuzhi turned to see Cai Zhao deep in thought, her expression grave. He asked her why.
Cai Zhao murmured, "If Nie Zhe never truly mastered the Five Venoms Palm, then how did Young Master Mu get poisoned over a year ago?"
Song Yuzhi fell silent.
Meanwhile, scornful gazes bore into Nie Zhe from all sides.
Though his guards had been fiercely loyal, their allegiance was built on generous rewards and the mistaken belief that Nie Zhe was "ruthless but capable."
Besides, accepting Nie Zhe’s bribes didn’t stop them from secretly despising him.Among them, those with quicker wits noticed that Mu Qingyan had just declared he wouldn’t harm Nie Zhe in the slightest. Eager to curry favor, one stepped forward, saying, “Nie Zhe, not only have you deceived the sect, but you’re also morally deficient and incompetent, reducing our Divine Sect to chaos. Though the Young Master spares you, I will not!” With that, he raised his blade to strike Nie Zhe down.
Clang!
A heavy iron arrow suddenly shot from nowhere, piercing the guard’s throat with such force that it embedded itself into a stone pillar, pinning the guard lifelessly against it.
Everyone turned to see the main doors now open, revealing a middle-aged woman in fitted attire and long boots standing there. In her left hand, she held a massive bow nearly half her height, its string still trembling. Behind her stood a squad of burly archers.
“Who dares harm my Sect Leader!” she roared.
Nie Zhe, like a child spotting their parents, scrambled toward her in tears. “Fengge, Fengge, you’ve finally come! Save me!”
The newcomer was none other than the newly appointed Elder Tianji, Hu Fengge!
Taking in the chaos in the hall and the corpses strewn about, Hu Fengge frowned. “What’s going on here? How did they breach Paradise Palace? Our brothers are locked in battle at the front, unaware that Mu Qingyan isn’t even with the army. I’ll have them alerted—”
Nie Zhe trembled. “Never mind that! Get me out of here—they’re trying to kill me!”
Yu Hui smiled at the sight of her. “Fengge, what brings you here?”
Hu Fengge, however, furrowed her brows. “That’s my question for you. The Sect Leader and I agreed he’d send hourly updates. When two hours passed without word, I knew something was wrong—Yu Hui, didn’t you swear never to return? What are you doing here?”
Yu Hui gave an awkward chuckle. “With the Divine Sect in crisis, I had no choice.”
Hu Fengge scoffed. “Your return changes nothing!” She then pulled Nie Zhe up. “Sect Leader, let’s go.”
Nie Zhe, nearly moved to tears, scrambled to his feet.
“Leaving won’t be so easy!” Mu Qingyan struck out with a palm strike, which Hu Fengge swiftly blocked.
As another fierce battle seemed imminent, Cai Zhao suddenly heard a strange, grating noise—like metal scraping against metal. Before she could react, a deafening boom echoed as the hall’s massive doors slammed shut under mechanical force.
Nie Zhe’s eyes gleamed with eerie delight. “Third Brother, Third Brother, you’ve finally made your move! Hahahaha! Mu Qingyan, you little brat, you may have outsmarted me, but our Nie family still has ways to deal with you—”
Before he could finish, an earth-shaking explosion erupted—Boom!
The entire banquet hall’s floor collapsed beneath them!
From the moment Nie Zhe called out “Third Brother,” Mu Qingyan, Cai Zhao, and the others had been on high alert, expecting hidden weapons or poison from all sides. Yet the danger came not from above or around them—but from below.
Amidst cries of varying intensity, everyone plummeted without exception into the seemingly bottomless abyss.
OpenNovel